Jets Blast Through Panthers

     The Florida Panthers finished their six-game road trip as they were pounded by the Winnipeg Jets 8-2 at MTS Centre on Tuesday night. The Cats completed the trip with a 4-2-0 record and return to Florida to play their first game of the calendar year on Thursday against Colorado.
     The first period belonged to Winnipeg(22-14-8) as they got two goals from Mathieu Perreault. The Panthers committed a giveaway at the top of their zone and the Jets capitalized. Zach Bogosian received the puck behind the Cats net from Michael Frolik at the left point. His centering pass was one-timed by Perreault from the crease at 7:24.
     The Jets added to their lead while they were at the end of their first power play at 11:24. Dustin Byfulien put the puck from the left point down to Bryan Little on the left wing. His cross-ice pass went to Perrealt at the inner edge of the right circle and he placed a wrist shot by the left glove of Roberto Luongo.
     Florida(20-12-9) surrendered four more goals during the second period. Byfulien put in two tallies for the Jets at 3:39 and 6:23. Dave Bolland scored his first goal as a Panther, after being signed as a free agent last July, at 5:14 on a wrist shot from the doorstep to break the shutout. Luongo was replaced in net by Al Montoya at the 6:37 mark.
     Winnipeg moved the margin up to 5-1 with 4:37 remaining in the second when a Toby Enstrom slapshot from the top left circle was deflected by Perrault in the crease area for his third goal of the game and the hat trick. Perrault compiled another goal with a backhand shot on the same shift just over a minute later at 16:32.
     In the third period, the Jets continued to roll and scored at 4:26. Jim Slater won a left circle face-off and the puck slid to Mark Stuart on the left point. He passed to his right where recent acquisition Jay Harrison blasted a one-time slapshot from the blue line through traffic.
     The Cats got one back at 5:39 on a 3-on-2 breakaway as Brad Boyes finished the play with a top-shelf shot from the right of the crease over Michael Hutchinson. Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov were both credited with assists on that play.
     The Panthers gave up another power-play goal later in the frame at 13:47. Evander Kane fired a shot from the top right circle on a feed from Enstrom on the top of the zone. Adam Lowry, son of former Florida Panther Dave Lowry, also had an assist on that tally.